Due to the importance of calpain activity in tumour progression, its role in other tumour types, and in vitro evidence suggesting a role in the response of ovarian cancer cell lines to cisplatin the aims of the current study were to investigate the expression levels of calpastatin, calpain-1 (μ-calpain) and calpain-2 (m-calpain) in tumours from ovarian cancer patients treated with platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy. This evidence concerns the gene CAPN1 and ovarian carcinoma.